Our Father’s Voice

I thought you knew me better than anyone, dad. Why don’t you see it? How can you get me so wrong?

I’m not the girl he thinks I am.

‘Take heart,’ he says, but I’m scared.
‘Rest,’ he says, but I run.
‘It’s OK to be you,’ he says, yet I pull on a mask.
‘You have what you need,’ he says, yet I chase after lies.
‘You’re forgiven,’ he says, but I punish myself.
‘You’re loved,’ he says, but I steal myself from him.
‘You’re gifted,’ he says, but I steal myself from others.
‘You’re free’, he says, but I daren’t spread my wings.
‘You’re a blessing,’ he says, but I’m too ashamed to shine.
‘You delight me,’ he says, but I’m sure he means ‘disgust.’

My words are weapons that pierce and that scar. But God’s word is a shield, a refuge and a fortress.

My words shout and accuse. But God’s words speak louder still. They silence my fears and my failures. They remind me, what is greater — the shortcomings of a child or the all-sufficiency of an Almighty Father?

Our Father knows the worst and best of us; all that we have done, and all that we will do. Whatever we face, He walks with us. Whatever we feel, He is faithful, loving and true.